Evan rubbed his eyes and groaned as the morning light filtered through the shop's windows. He blinked at the unfamiliar sight in front of him—shelves that had been nearly bare the night before were now stocked with neatly arranged, brightly colored packages of Instant Ramen. The red and yellow cups practically glowed under the lantern light, standing out sharply against the wooden shelves.
For a moment, he just stared. "What the…?" he muttered, rubbing his temples as if that would make sense of it. Then it hit him—the system had mentioned a reward for completing his first quest. This must be it.
He stepped closer to inspect the new product, reading the labels and flipping one of the cups over in his hands. Instant noodles, it said. A meal that could be prepared in minutes with just hot water. Ramen. He'd eaten this stuff a hundred times back in his world, but in this medieval fantasy world full of adventurers, knights, and mages, the concept of "instant noodles" felt absurd.
The system chimed in his ear, making him jump.
"New quest assigned: Sell 10 bowls of Instant Ramen, 2 silver coins each. Reward: Shop upgrade. Penalty: Death."
Evan let out a long sigh. "Of course. Another death penalty."
He put the cup back on the shelf and slumped behind the counter. "Great. So now I have to convince a bunch of adventurers to spend their hard-earned coins on noodles. Yeah, that'll go over well." He ran a hand through his hair, wondering how in the world he was going to pull this off.
He had barely managed to sell one can of Cola to that rogue, and even then, it had involved a dagger threat and a price that made absolutely no sense in this world. Now he was supposed to get ten people to buy bowls of noodles?
"Why couldn't I just get a normal quest like… I don't know… 'learn magic' or 'become a hero'? No, I'm stuck selling snacks with life-or-death consequences," Evan grumbled to himself, pacing behind the counter.
He stared at the Ramen cups again, trying to figure out how to market them. "Okay, think. What's the angle here? 'Perfect for your next battle—hot, delicious, and ready in minutes!' No, that's stupid. These guys are out there fighting monsters, not sitting down for a quick lunch."
Another thought crossed his mind. What if this stuff has some kind of magical effect, like the Cola did? The adventurers who drank the Cola seemed weirdly energized, like it did more than just quench thirst. But the system still hadn't told him what the Ramen did. All it said was that he needed to sell it, or else.
Evan groaned and leaned against the counter, glaring at the Ramen like it was personally responsible for his troubles. "Maybe I'll just get lucky, and someone will buy it out of curiosity."
Suddenly, the shop door creaked open. Evan straightened immediately, forcing a grin as his first customer of the day stepped inside.